


infinity is worth it (because of you)

by electricwaves



Series: An Eternal Nightmare [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Angst With A Slightly Happy Ending, Best Friends, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Clay | Dream-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Don't You Love When Your Best Friends Execute You, Dream Smp, Dream Team SMP - Freeform, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Mild Blood, Morally Ambiguous Character, Platonic Relationships, Reincarnation, fictional characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricwaves/pseuds/electricwaves
Summary: Dream had seriously crossed too many lines. Not only did he manipulate Tommy and Tubbo to split them apart, he'd also manipulated George and Sapnap, the two people closest to him.It was time to put an end to his treachery. The damage he'd dealt was irreversible. Sapnap and George had chosen their sides.It sure as hell wasn't Dream's.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: An Eternal Nightmare [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055204
Comments: 54
Kudos: 281





	infinity is worth it (because of you)

It was supposed to be quick and simple. 

But people never seemed to like quick and simple. 

They made things complicated. Messy. _Bloody_. Dream didn’t mind getting bloody. Hell, he was great at it. He could have no armor and only a diamond axe and still win against someone with more odds. He knew that. Everyone else knew that, too. Dream could duke it out with anyone if it came to combat. 

But people… they came with emotions. That’s another battle entirely. He knew that now. He should’ve known that, should’ve recognized the signs, taken things less seriously, or perhaps more. It wasn’t his fault. _It isn’t my fault_ . He came into being to create this server so that he and his close friends could just have some fun. It was an escape, and a wonderful one at that. _Remember when it was just us? Just the original few?_ But then more people started flooding in without Dream’s full consent. They overrode his power. He could feel them chipping away at the walls he’d built around the server itself. The Whitelist was being bypassed, and it seemed as though each time Dream tried to harden the walls, people came crashing down upon it. 

It didn’t take long for the Dream Team’s house to be rebranded as the Community house, or for the expanse of land to be covered in an array of other people's builds. Dream would come onto the server and no longer be greeted with as much gusto as he had before. His friends had other friends to talk to now. Dream was just… a shadow of what he used to be. He didn’t like it. He wanted things to just go back to the way they were, to that tight-knit group who’d just fool around with each other. Sure, he thought the other people were lovely at times. And he was happy that something he created was causing them to grow. But he wasn’t really happy, was he? There were whispers that pulled him in. He wanted more. Needed more. _Power. Attention. Talk to me, guys. Please._ Call him selfish, arrogant, tyrannical, whatever. Maybe he was those things, he didn’t care. 

Dream only wanted the things to go back to how they used to be.

So yes, he stole the disks and taunted Tommy. He caused wars instead of trying to maintain the peace, dragging in innocents who thought they could escape his watchful eye. He meddled with people’s lives, just as they meddled with his. He watched the hope of every L’Manberg citizen dwindle, relishing in the sight of light trickling from their eyes as obsidian walls cast darkness over their homes. He watched the bags under Tommy’s stony gaze grow more and more bruised as the teenager came to the false realization that nobody in L’Manberg seemed to care for him, not even Tubbo. But the thing was, the blond boy’s eyes would light up slightly at the sight of Dream. Dream, who had carefully crafted Tommy’s escalating spiral into insanity. And boy, did Dream love being the only one that Tommy could depend on, the one everyone was afraid of, and ultimately, the one everyone respected. Dream was finally the puppeteer; the person twirling all the strings. People bowed to his will. It was amazing. Almost every word he uttered was listened to and noted carefully. He was being warmed up by the shine of the spotlight. 

But glory is meant to never be everlasting. 

Oh, how far he’d fallen. 

Opening his eyes and tasting salt on his lips, Dream almost laughed. The coziness of control dissipated as soon as he realized that the two people who he held the closest to him had betrayed him. And for what? _A throne?_ Yet people had the audacity to call Dream the power-hungry one? The cold night air stuttered in Dream’s throat as he tried to inhale. The image of George’s face crumpling with distrust only led to him thinking about Sapnap’s face doing the same, and Dream didn’t need that right now. He needed to stop thinking. To stop feeling.

Emotions were overrated. 

* * *

_“Do you even care for us, Dream?” Sapnap’s voice was uncharacteristically filled with genuine fury and hurt. “All you care about are those stupid disks. You even said so yourself.”_

_Apprehension made Dream’s heart jam up his throat, but he shoved it back down and tried keeping his words light. “Well, I obviously didn’t mean that. I just wanted to make it seem like Tommy couldn’t defeat me.”_

_“Do we really mean that little to you, then? We’re just leverage?”_

_“That’s not what I mea—”_

_“Yeah, and how could you dethrone me just like that? You didn’t even listen to what I had to say on the matter. You just decided how I was feeling.” George’s disappointed frown almost hurt more than the fiery glare that Sapnap was giving. Dream shook his head. How could they not see the truth when it was so evident?_

_“I want to protect you, George,” Dream said honestly. It stung when he was only met with a scoff. “You’re not a neutral king, and you’re going to be targeted. Remember the invisible netherite person? You’re also going to be disliked because of that. Especially since you’re friends with me. Come on now, George. You didn’t care about having power until it was taken away, and even then, you’re still a knight.”_

_“Being dethroned isn't half of it, Dream!” George rubbed at his temples, adjusting his glasses with a frown. “I’m mostly upset because you… you just took it away and spoke over my emotions. Like they didn’t mean anything to you.”_

_“And what about my emotions, Dream? I’ve felt so neglected lately and you don’t even seem to care. You start a war over George’s house, but where were you when I had to release Mars?” Sapnap’s entire body shook with anger. Beside him, George placed a steady hand on his shoulder._

_Dream sighed, “Listen, I—”_

_“If me being friends with you puts me in danger, then maybe we shouldn’t be friends,” George said, each word tightening the barbs Dream felt pricking at his chest. They seemed so final._

_“I’m tired of feeling alone, Dream.” Sapnap’s liveliness was gone. He sounded dead. The barbs started to draw blood._

_With a heavy sigh, Dream took off his porcelain mask with trembling fingers. It shone less white and more of a dusty gray these days. He met Sapnap’s eye, then George’s, only to be met with the same hard stare. “You’ve both chosen your side, then.” They nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you two another time.” Ignoring the open wounds that left Dream feeling weak at the knees, he only braced himself and turned around, heartbeat matching each lethargic footstep he left behind in the mud._

* * *

All was lost as soon as Dream realized that he had run out of odds. It was a 2v1, him versus George and Sapnap, and he was sure to win. But maybe fighting was more than brute strength, because Dream felt more and more defeated each time his axe clanged against Sapnap’s, or when George’s sword scraped against his shield, one that used to don a blue and white banner in honor of the very man now battling against him. 

Dream knew he was a goner as soon as he felt the tips of two blades press against his back, the searing cold of their metal seeping through his shirt, his netherite armor and pride long broken. The bite of his handcuffs started making his wrists itch. Stars, what a sad sight he must be. Here he was, hunching before everyone he once manipulated, the strings he’d pulled taut now strewn about like loose hairs on a linoleum floor. Thorns that stung with guilt barely pierced what was left of his heart as he listened to the collective silence of baited breath and watched the rows of shining eyes trained on the stage before them. This was not the spotlight he had wanted. He wished more than ever that he had his mask on. The feeling of people being able to actually _see_ him made his skin crawl. 

“Dream,” Sapnap began, the tremors in his voice reflected by the shaky grip of his sword. Dream could feel its tip repeatedly loosening and tightening on the small of his back. “You are standing before us today because everyone in this server condemns you for your actions. Not only did you manipulate Tubbo and therefore the rest of L’Manberg, you also gaslighted Tommy to the point of mental dependence on you, and you alone. These are only two of your most nefarious acts, a list which includes a wide array of crimes. George, take it away.” 

“Dream,” George continued, his grip just as unsure as the other’s. The hand not wielding a sword held open a book filled with cursive. “You are being executed on this—” he let out a quavering breath, then cleared his throat and straightened up. “Excuse me. You are being executed on this day. The reason being your multiple crimes against everyone on this SMP, regardless of faction. These include the following: Murder of Every Degree, Kidnapping, Hostage Takeovers, Theft, Stalking, Property Damage, Arson, Treason, and the undeniable fact that you have left lasting psychological as well as sometimes physical damage upon every single player who has ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with you. Because of this, you have not been granted the right to a trial. Do you have any last words?” 

“...It always ends like this,” Dream said after a few beats of silence. “With you two being the last thing I see. I wonder why. You know, once I’m dead, some parts of everyone’s memory will disappear. A mix of good and bad. You’ll remember me, but not everything. And it's all because I didn’t win this time.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?” George’s brow was furrowed, Dream could see that even through the goggles. 

“You two don’t remember. Nobody does. Only I remember the past lives. It’s the curse of being eternal,” Dream said, managing the barest semblance of a smirk. “Only I remember the series of Manhunts, of you two being cursed to kill me before I win. Sometimes Bad or Antfrost were cursed, too. It’s what I get for making friends. The universe is not kind to abominations like me; perhaps that is why I am always doomed to die at the hands of those I love. It knows that doing so would hurt me the most.” The green of his irises turned to watercolor as he started to tear up. “I know I sound crazy, but it’s ok. Maybe it’s better that way.”

“Sapnap, what is he doing?” 

“Don’t listen to him, George. He’s just spewing out bullshit. It’s what he does.”

“I don’t know anymore. I’m so tired. And confused.” It was miniscule, but George’s sword dropped by the tiniest of centimeters. “Maybe it’s just the Dreamon that’s making him do this.”

Sapnap shook his head, “We already went over this, remember? Even if it isn’t really Dream who’s in front of us right now, we can’t get him back. We need to do this, and we need to do it now. Before anybody else has to die.” 

The sword returned to its earlier position. “You’re right, but I hate that you are.” George’s accent got thicker the more upset he was, and it was almost impossible to understand him at the moment. 

Dream shrugged as best as he could, given how restrained he was. “I know that I’ll come back as soon as my life ends, but I’ll still feel the pain of your blades.” _I won’t remember the pain I inflicted at first, though,_ Dream thought. _It’ll be like what happened to Ghostbur, except I’m still doomed to keep living and remembering, then forgetting over and over and over again._ “I just want to say that I’m sorry.” He looked into the crowd of people. Fundy, Technoblade, Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo, Badboyhalo, Skeppy, Nihachu, Captain Puffy, Punz, Eret, and many, many more were all standing there: a collection of the lives he had ruined. “I’m sorry, everyone. Goodbye.” 

“Dream has given his last words. Let the execution commence,” Sapnap shouted, his voice thunderous yet flat. The audience leaned forward as Dream was shoved to his knees, the swords now grazing his neck. Glancing up, Dream spotted his pitiful reflection on the darkness of George’s goggles and Sapnap’s stare. _How quickly did my victory turn sour. At least my ending remains bittersweet. I'll get to see you two again when I wake up._ He was used to the sight of George’s tinted lenses and Sapnap’s disappointed gaze by now. It was an image that was always met with death and rebirth, after all. _You two make it worth it._

“I love you guys,” he whispered, knowing by the way their jaws clenched that they had heard. George gave Sapnap a slow nod. Their hands pulled back together as their weapons sliced through its victim, causing a message to appear before everyone’s eyes: 

_Dream was killed by GeorgeNotFound and Sapnap._

Rain began to come crashing down, unforgiving and violent. 

How fitting.

Pushing his goggles aside, George clamped a hand over his mouth in an attempt to cease the sobs wracking his lungs. Sapnap let out a scream, hands clutching at his chest. They both dropped onto the wooden floor, heaving with staccato breaths and ignoring their bruising shins. Also laying beside each other on the ground were their swords, the downpour flushing away the crimson that blemished their shimmering metal. 

“He’s gone,” George managed to choke out.

“We did it,” Sapnap murmured. “We finally did it.” 

They found themselves reaching for Dream’s body, cradling the man’s head and neck carefully as if he were asleep. George let the rain and his tears fall onto a familiar pattern of freckles. Everyone gawked in relieved horror as Dream’s body crumbled to ash, blackening the oak wood underneath Sapnap and George. The two friends were only able to stay paralyzed and watch as their fingers were doused with water, gradually cleansing them of red and gray. Once the last of the soot had washed away, they helped each other stand back up and face the crowd, ready to make another announcement when a message interrupted:

_Dream has joined the game._

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED.**


End file.
